Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day is a 1993 American fantasy comedy film directed by Harold Ramis from a screenplay by him and Danny Rubin. Starring Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, and Chris Elliott, it tells the story of Phil Connors (Murray), a cynical television weatherman covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who becomes trapped in a time loop, forcing him to relive February2 repeatedly. The film also features Stephen Tobolowsky, Brian Doyle-Murray, Marita Geraghty, Angela Paton, Rick Ducommun, Rick Overton, and Robin Duke. Rubin conceived the outline of Groundhog Day in the early 1990s. He wrote it as a spec script to gain meetings with producers for other work. It eventually came to the attention of Ramis, who worked with Rubin to make his idea less dark in tone and more palatable to a general audience by enhancing the comedy. After being cast, Murray clashed with Ramis over the script; Murray wanted to focus on the philosophical elements, whereas Ramis concentrated on the comic aspects. Principal photography took place from March to June 1992, almost entirely in Woodstock, Illinois. Filming was difficult, in part because of bitterly cold weather but also because of the ongoing conflict between Ramis and Murray. Groundhog Day was considered a box-office success on its release, earning over $105million to become one of the highest-grossing films of 1993. It also received generally positive reviews. Reviewers were consistent in praise for the film's successful melding of highly sentimental and deeply cynical moments, and for the philosophical message beneath the comedy. It received multiple award nominations and won a BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay. For all its success, the film marked the end of Ramis's and Murray's long collaborative partnership, which had produced films like Caddyshack (1980) and Ghostbusters (1984). After filming ended, the pair did not speak to each other until shortly before Ramis's death in 2014. The film was a showcase for Murray; he had previously been seen only as a comic actor, and his performance led to more serious roles in critically acclaimed films. In the years since its release, the film has grown in esteem; it is often considered to be among the greatest films of the 1990s and one of the greatest comedy movies ever. It has also had a significant effect on popular culture: the term Groundhog Day, meaning a monotonous, unpleasant, and repetitive situation, has become part of the English lexicon.